The Right to Exist
by Genis's Shadow
Summary: Will mind truly overwhelm matter? Will shadow extinguish light? For one Colette Brunell, a prisoner in Iselia's human ranch, the answer is dependent on her survival. AU fic, rating may rise. R & R, if you please.
1. Mind over Matter

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Tales of Symphonia or any characters, items, or events that take place within it.

**Prologue: **Mind over Matter

_Mind and Matter._

_The two driving forces of our universe._

_They represent balance, never one outweighing the other._

_When one would become too immersed in his thoughts, the Earth's matter would keep him grounded in reality._

_When one would suffer from the harsh reality, he would find refuge in his dreams._

_Dreams._

_Dreams are fantasies that one uses to escape from harsh realities. One may find inner peace and true happiness in his dreams. He may shed his mortal coils and enter nirvana._

_He may wish that he could live his magical dreams._

_He may wish that his fantasy would become reality._

_He may wish that his mind would take matter._

_A ridiculous notion._

_If his mind took matter, his dreams would come true._

_But so would his nightmares._

_The darkness of his mind would engulf his light._

_This is why the balance of mind and matter must never tip._

_The results could be positively cataclysmic._

_But what if the scales DID tip?_

_What if mind truly DID overwhelm matter?_

_Let us journey to the world of Sylvarant._

_It is a dangerous world, ridden with disaster and wrought with peril. It has been ravaged by countless creatures of nightmare._

_Yet in all of the shadow, there is a sliver of light._

_The light of hope._

_The light of Colette Brunel, Chosen of Salvation._

_She is a beacon of light in the deep fog of chaos._

_As all do, she has magical dreams. She dreams of light and joy, of redemption and salvation._

_But as all do, she has her nightmares. She dreams of horrid monsters, twisted creatures of death and destruction. She dreams of her family being taken from her, her beloved town being destroyed, her friends dying one by one… she hears their screams of agony, their cries of anguish… she is helpless to stop their deaths, she can only look on in horror…_

_Let the scales of that world begin to tip._

_Let her mind take matter!_

_Will her light remain shining bright?_

_Or will the darkness engulf the flame of her soul for all eternity? _


	2. Symphonia in Shadow

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters, items, or events that take place within it.

**Chapter One:** Symphonia in Shadow

_My mother leads me away from our still-smoking house, clutching my hand as if to never let go of it. She holds me close, her gnarled hands grasping mine. Her once-beautiful face is burned and scarred, her clothes ripped and torn. Tears begin to well up in my eyes at the sight, but she smiles and wipes them away-ever so gently. "We must not make a sound," she whispers. I gaze at our home, now reduced to a pile of smoldering ash. Mother turns me away. "Don't look back," she croons softly. "We must look ahead to the future." I nod in agreement._

_We continue down the dirt road, my eyes growing wide with horror. Countless buildings were being set aflame-their occupants still trapped inside. Their shrieks of pain and terror are echoing throughout Iselia. Maniacal laughter is heard as well—fiendish little cackling that fed on victim's despair. We quicken our pace to a run. Don't look back, I tell myself._

_The village's exit is nearly in sight! We WILL escape from this hell on earth! We'll start our life over again, we'll-_

_Suddenly, my mother has stopped moving. I attempt to see what has happened, but she shields my eyes._

_"Run," she says softly._

_I stare at her, my tears flowing out unchecked. She would never tell me to leave her... unless it no longer mattered._

_"Run," she repeats, more firmly this time._

_And then I see them. Armored in only the finest steels and sporting cruel whips, the demons advance on us. They speak to each other in their native tongue, their heads bobbing up and down in anticipation of the kill. Monsters in half—elven form!_

_"RUN!" my mother yells, giving me a firm shove in the opposite direction. The monsters jump to attack._

_"COLETTE!" I hear my mother shriek. "RUN!" She lets out a deafening screech as the whips crack on her back—once, twice, thrice!_

_I hear her scream and falter for just a moment..._

_Just a moment was all it takes for the demons to grab me._

_I kick and scream but I can't seem to break free of their grip. They whip me as hard as I can but the pain doesn't matter anymore...nothing matters but HER..._

_And I stare at her lifeless form...they grab me again, and I don't even try to escape...they don't matter anymore..._

_"MOTHER!"_

_

* * *

_

Locked away in a small chamber inside Iselia's human ranch, Colette Brunell awoke with a start.

Clad in a peasant's gown and covered in naught but the most ragged bed-sheets, the unfortunate girl brushed her long platinum tresses out of her face. She breathed deeply. "Another nightmare…" she murmured. "That's all it was, just another nightmare."

And suddenly she was all smiles.

"Marble!" she sang happily. "It's time to wake up! Today's a very special day, after all!"

"Please, child…" came a wizened old voice from a hammock in the corner of the cell. "Just a few more minutes, just a few more…I was having the most wonderful dream…."

"OOOH!" giggled the blonde. "Was it about…a BOY?" A grim old chuckle resounded throughout the chamber as Marble stretched, yawned, and slowly reached for her walking stick. "Ah, child…so naïve, ever so naïve…well, naivety and youth go hand and hand, I suppose. Come now, Colette, the Masters will be upset if they're kept waiting."

As if a little light bulb went "DING!" in her head, Colette's eyes opened wide. "Oh, that's right! I'm so sorry!" she gasped. "C'mon, let's go! I'm really sorry!"

A bell rang throughout the sector, signaling that the prisoners were to report to their meeting hall. From there they would be sent to their day's labor, after which they would receive their rations for the next day, and be sent back to their cells, where they would sleep until the bell would ring once more. This was a tedious lifestyle, to be sure, but Colette didn't mind. After all, this was a very special day indeed! Today was the day of Marble's Transformation.

As every Host Body knew, Transformation was what the Desians called the final reward, in which the lucky host was to have their Exsphere activated, sending their soul straight to the Goddess Martel and leaving their body to be absorbed into the mass of Lifeless Beings. An effective means of establishing complete authority over the so-called inferior beings, to be sure—taking away souls and leaving bodies for naught but brute labor, unable to raise a finger to stop their tyrannical overlords.

Marble knew this, of course, and she had no objections. She was to die as she had lived…a decent, hard-working slave. Her body would be left to her former owners, but her soul would fly free—free, free! Higher and higher it would soar, where the half—elves could never catch her.

Perhaps these were the final thoughts of all of the unfortunate Hosts before their bodies were twisted into monsters and their souls went straight to hell.

* * *

WOW, cliffhanger! What do you all think of it so far? Good? Bad? Okay? Be sure to R & R!

And nooooooowwwwwwwwww it's time fooooooooorrr…

READER RESPONSES WITH GENIS'S SHAAAADOOOOOOWW!

**MizzDarkness:** Wow, you really like it? Thanks a whole bunch!

**MoonCannon:** Anymore to come? You betcha! Here's for starters….

**Capricorn Chaos:** More of it, huh? Your wish is my command! As for Capricorn herself, you can bet she'll be showing up in the next few chapters! Thanks for reviewing!


	3. Ascension

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters, items, or events that take place within it.

**Chapter Two:** Ascension

Colette happily bounced down the corridor, cheerily greeting all of the Host Bodies that passed. Shaking her head, Marble followed along. "So energetic, so full of youth…," the old woman mumbled. "Learn to appreciate it while you still can, child."

In no time at all, the two had made it to the Podium, where they were to receive instruction about how to carry out their day. For living Hosts like Marble and Colette, no order was needed, but the large masses of Lifeless Beings had no minds of their own, and thus needed instruction. As the unlikely duo approached the Command Nexus, they noticed an unusually large number of Lifeless Hosts staring at the lone Desian Taskmaster with glazed eyes, sending an involuntary shiver down their spines. _Something big must be going on,_ they reasoned.

"Listen up, you scum!" snarled the half-elf, who still needs a name. (How about 'Smith'? Bob Smith, or 'B.S.' to be short).

"My name is George O' Riley," snapped the Desian, who will not do a single thing I ask him to.

Frustrated by my authorly antics, the Taskmaster took a deep breath before continuing. "As all of you know, today is indeed a _very_ special day for Host Body–91401. Today is her day of Ascension, and, well, the higher-ups were adamant about letting you all view such a magical thing. Now, where is the lucky girl?"

As if directed by a single mind, the mindless shells all turned and pointed to Marble, who began to slowly hobble forward to the Nexus. They smiled as she passed by.

"Lucky girl," stated one in a monotone.

"Lucky," the others chorused.

"You walk towards your Ascension," continued another.

"Ascension," the others agreed.

"Good luck, Marble!" squealed Colette. Marble turned, gave a wistful little smile, and was gone.

* * *

Colette giggled as she wiped sweat off her brow. After a hard day's work, a good six hours of rest was all that she needed. It had been quite a day.

The blonde beamed inwardly as she thought about Marble's Ascension. After working so hard for so many years, a good reward was just what the old woman needed. The younger girl couldn't wait for Marble to come back and tell her just how _wonderful_ it was! Then they would have a nice girlie chat and spend the rest of the night sharing stories and eating sammiches and drinking tea.

Smiling happily, Colette brushed her platinum tresses out of her face and slowly drifted off to sleep.

THUMP!

Colette awoke with a start, throwing her covers off to either side of her. "Is it morning already?" she squealed.

THUMP!

"Who's there?" she squeaked.

"Shhh! Shut up, human!" came the unexpected response. Frozen in sheer terror, Colette was helpless to disobey as the trespasser continued push bricks from the cell's outer wall.

THUMP!

THUMP!

THU—

"Hmm…" came the mystery man's voice. "Damn, looks like they put a bit more mortar in this one, I can't push it open. Gimme a hand, will you?"

Still confused, Colette obliged, and began to pull on the other side of the stubborn brick. After a few minutes of pushing and pulling, the brick began to give way.

"…man! This is taking way too long. Out of the way!" demanded the newcomer.

STILL confused, Colette slowly walked to the opposite side of the cell.

"You ready?" the trespasser shouted. "Take this! FIREBALL!"

A brilliant blast of burning red shot straight through the brick walk, illuminating Colette in a magnificent eldritch glow. Shards of glass and pieces of rubble were aplenty in the air as the transgressor stepped through the wreckage. She turned to appraise this magic—wielding mystery man.

"…waaaaaaaaait a second, you're nothing but a kid!" the girl exclaimed.

"I am NOT a kid!" whined the child as he brushed his _adorable_ silver locks out of his face. "For YOUR information, I'm Genis Sage, the Second Captain of sector A of Iselia Ranch, and that makes ME better then YOU."

"Aww, you're pretty cute," giggled the girl as she sat back down on her bed. "Genis, huh? My name's Colette Brunel, or Host Body A—903—"

"…28," finished the young half—elf. "Yeah, yeah, I know! Marble's told me all about you. Wait, where is she, anyway?"

"Marble? Oh, you know her too?" inquired the blonde.

"Know her? Of course! Genis the Genius, that's me! My sister's her group officer out in the fields. Marble's the first human I ever met. The higher—ups told me the back off from you human guys, but you really aren't that bad. Colette, huh? It's good to meet you in person!" Genis laughed childishly. "I started to bring Marble some food out in the fields after I saw some stupid Taskmaster named Bob Smith out in the fields whipping her."

(And that, my friends, is another reason why you really shouldn't like Bob. He's mean and he won't listen to me).

"From there, she started telling me about all the nasty things the rest of the Desians were doing to you guys, and I couldn't just stand still. I complained to my big sis, and she said she'd look into it, but she really hasn't done anything yet. She's been brainwashed by her co-workers, I guess. Those Lifeless Beings are _scary_."

Genis paused before eyeing Colette for a second. "So, wait. Where _is_ Marble?"

"Marble?" replied Colette nonchalantly. "I dunno, but the lucky dog was sent for her Ascension earlier today. She hasn't come back since, so I'd guess that she's really having a good time." Colette smiled, oblivious to the look of perfect horror that was frozen on Genis's face.

"ASCENSION?" exclaimed the young half—elf. "Are you crazy? She's gonna die! C'mon, we've gotta get to Raine and stop this before it's too late!"

"What?" questioned Colette, quite befuddled at Genis's sudden outburst. "I thought that Ascension was a good thing! You know, a final reward! A chance to be Chosen, to help the Masters and do good!"

Genis slapped a hand to his head. "Oy ve…I'll explain it to you on the way there. Come on already!"

* * *

_Pain._

_Such pain as Marble had never known spread throughout her body. She was burning. She was dying. She was lying flat on the floor, her limps splayed this way and that. She twitched to and fro, raising up a feeble old hand to her Desian Masters as if to beg for forgiveness. She was given three lashes for her troubles. _

"_Come now," said a Host Body._

"_Come now," repeated the others._

"_This does not hurt you," continued the soulless vessel._

"_Hurt you," replied the others maliciously._

"_You are Ascending," the Taskmaster laughed._

"_Ascending," the slaves replied._

_And suddenly, all the pain was over. _

_She was one of them now. _

_She was Chosen. _

_She was Selected. _

_Slowly but surely, she rose from the floor. _

_She turned to the Desian._

"_Ascending," she agreed.

* * *

_

READER RESPONSE TIME, BABY!

**MizzDarkness:** Favorites? Much obliged!

**LloydIrvingIsMine:** SURE SURE SURE!

**Fan Fan Girl:** Wow! Thanks a whole bunch! I'll try to add as much as I can.

**Urby:** WOW! It's been so long since you've last reviewed! Thanks a whole lot! Glad you found this again, dood.

**MoonCannon:** Mua ha ha….ha ha ha HA!


End file.
